Microsoft Research Inspires Worldwide Digital Inclusion

Microsoft Research announces its Digital Inclusion and Inspire initiatives, which seek to address technological challenges in society and make computing more accessible.

In a bid to combat the widespread global technology gap, Microsoft Research, a division of Microsoft Corp., announced Friday two initiatives designed to encourage computer research and technological uptake in developing countries.

Microsoft Research, which works collaboratively with the global academic community, unveiled its $1.2 million Digital Inclusion RFP (request for proposal), a worldwide research opportunity that aims to address technological challenges hindering global progress in health, education and social conditions, according to a news release.

Microsoft Research also announced its Inspire Program, which is designed to establish collaboration between academics in the European community and in developing countries, by supporting researchers and lecturers, Tom Healy, lead program manager for Microsoft Research, External Research and Programs, told Ziff Davis Internet.

"The personal and informational connections made possible through computing and communications technology are becoming ever more critical to economic, educational and social progress," said Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft Research, in a statement.

"Yet many significant challenges remain to be solved in the push toward digital inclusion on a global scale. We hope these programs will encourage more researchers to pursue approaches in computing technology that advance these goals--getting us one step closer to digital inclusion."

Microsoft Research's Digital Inclusion RFP is designed to expand worldwide computing information technology beyond its traditional user base, in a bid to address challenges (such as health care, economic development) in remote rural and urban communities by soliciting pertinent research project proposals, according to the program's Web site.

The External Research and Programs Group of Microsoft Research will further extend the Digital Inclusion concept by exploring the use of wireless technologies and applications to make relevant and inexpensive computing widely available, the Group said.

Microsoft Research says it will support academic research targeted at specific technologies, taking into special consideration proposals that assume a multidisciplinary approach toward Digital Inclusion issues, according to the release.

"While the technology perhaps exists to deal with many of the challenges posed by underserved communities, the problem is that the challenges themselves are terribly ill-defined," said Balaji Parthasarathy, from the International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore, in a statement.

"This calls for collective definition of user needs, for which users, designers, and researchers must work closely."

The Digital Inclusion RFP identifies a number of breakthrough objectives.

Specifically, Microsoft Research encourages applicants to advance the state-of-the-art of technologies by devising proposals in the areas of creative infrastructures, new form factors, applications of mobile devices, connectivity around various networking infrastructures, usability and user interface (particularly in challenges of new users that may be semi- or illiterate), Healy said.

The company has requested that Digital Inclusion research proposals target a number of key goals.

These include novel and creative solutions with immediate relevance and potential for economic impact.

The RFP encourages widespread dissemination and communication regarding ongoing research and also asks applicants to design technologies that are engineered for actual pilot deployment (as "proof of concept").

"The needs and the constraints of the emerging economies are unique and require innovations that specifically target those constraints," said Sailesh Chutani, director of Microsoft Research's External Research and Programs Group, in a statement.

"The goal of the RFP is to stimulate novel research to solve these challenging problems and make a different on a global scale. If successful, it could unlock the potential of the billions of people who have not benefited from the IT revolution of the past decades."

The program incorporates several components to which it will offer eligible applicants.

Among these are a research and lecture program for visiting volunteers, as well as awards for research summer school travel and Ph.D. proposals, according to the program Web site.

The Inspire visiting volunteer program is an online service (available Nov. 7, 2005) that brings IT specialists, researchers and lecturers from countries in the European Economic Area and from the United States, to teach computer science at universities in developing countries.

Through its Inspire program, Microsoft Research will also sponsor computer science research summer schools in countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Beginning in 2006, the company will offer eligible schools a program of workshops, lectures and tutorials.

All applications for this award must be submitted by Feb. 1, 2006. Eligible students may access the online application form beginning December 2005.

"The level of excitement around this initiative is something we haven't seen in a while," said Healy.

"The idea that technology can make significant differences and positive benefits in individual lives is something that really captures people's attention. We're now in a position, in collaboration with the academic research community, to do creative things and have such an impact."